2015 Favorites

I really wanted to look back through the past year and share my enthusiasm for my new found favorites. Oh where to even begin!! If you need guidance to clarify the rating symbols, check out my post A World Without a Book Rating.

End of the Spear by Steve Saint:

Rating: S

I didn’t actually have a letter to add beside this. In my opinion, there was no need to add an sx symbol, but there was some nudity. It wasn’t detailed in any way though. It was just talking of how the Waodani tribe lived, so I’d still highly recommend it.

This is an incredible autobiography written by the son of the martyred missionary Nate Saint. We’ve all probably heard of the inspiring tale of Jim Elliot and his friends who had the burden to reach the Auca tribe in Ecuador. Simply told, the tribe killed them, but the rest of the family was able to reach these secluded people ending in the tribe’s conversion. Happy ending! But to me, the story was just beginning! How dare everyone leave off at the very best part! This secluded tribe, now known as the Waodani, turned to Christ and became completely different in attitude, but we get no details! How did God work in their hearts to turn them into a loving and caring people? I want to hear testimonies! I want to know what happened! How did the Waodani react to the rest of the family now living within their tribe? I want to know how everyone became reconciled and forgave each other through Christ and the work that went on! What’s going on now? This book speaks about it all! Saint gives a narration from the time when he was a boy all the way to the present day. This story serves as a living testimony of love and forgiveness through Christ Jesus.

Personally, I didn’t find anything bad in it. But, it did have a lot of raw emotion and the account of the camps might disturb some people. Nothing gory, so my rating is still an A, but others may still need to use caution.

Goyer’s fictional work on the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen is an absolute masterpiece! What first caught my attention was from whose point of view a third of the story turned around. I have never seen anyone experiment with the view of a former Nazi guard’s wife. She is hurting from her past and wishes to make it right. During her journey to recovery, two equally hurting people cross her path. One is an American soldier who was part of the liberation and another a survivor. Together, they learn healing and forgiveness.

Let me tell you one thing, I am a HUGE sucker for books about restoration, healing, and Christ’s forgiveness. My heart just melts within me! So when I saw it, my first reaction was, “MUST. HAVE. NOW!!!” I’m so glad this beautiful and loving story came across my path. Now, I’m able to share it with friends whose copies are as heavily underlined as my own. (I forgot to mention this book has so many great quotes!)